Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) amended its utility token supervisory framework by issuing seven notifications that came into effect on August 13, 2024. Ready-to-use utility tokens (tokens that can be used immediately to acquire specific goods or services), which were previously unregulated, are now subject to the supervisory scheme set forth by the seven new notifications in both primary and secondary markets. This is intended to provide an investor protection mechanism that responds to the characteristics, risks, and usage of the different types of ready-to-use utility tokens. Under the new notifications, ready-to-use utility tokens are categorized into two groups. These are detailed below. Group 1 Utility Tokens Group 1 utility tokens include ready-to-use utility tokens issued for consumption purposes or as a digital representation of a certificate. Examples include loyalty points, digital movie or concert tickets, NFTs, and carbon credits, among others. Principally, there is no change in the regulation of group 1 utility tokens under the new notifications. In the primary market, issuance of this type of token is not subject to the initial coin offering (ICO) requirements. In the secondary market, providing services related to group 1 utility tokens is not considered to be the same as operating a digital asset business with licensing requirements under the Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018). Licensed digital asset operators (including exchanges, brokers, and dealers) are not permitted to list or trade group 1 utility tokens. To provide services in relation to group 1 utility tokens, these licensed digital asset operators must establish a separate entity to provide those services and must not use names or messages that could cause the public to misunderstand that the separate entity is engaged in a digital asset business under SEC supervision. Group 2 Utility Tokens Group 2 utility tokens include other ready-to-use utility tokens besides those specified

The Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC) of Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) has announced the first administrative fine under the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (PDPA). A major private company was fined THB 7 million for noncompliance with specific PDPA requirements, resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of personal data to a call center gang (phone scam fraudsters). Key Findings of Noncompliance The PDPC determined that there were three key violations of specific requirements of the PDPA: Failure to appoint a data protection officer (DPO): Despite processing personal data for over 100,000 individuals as part of its core operations, the company did not appoint a DPO. Inadequate security measures: The company lacked the required security measures, leading to a data breach involving a call center gang, causing widespread damage. Delayed data breach notification: The company did not notify authorities of the data breach within the required timeframe and failed to address the breach promptly, making it impossible to remedy the situation. In addition to the monetary fine, the PDPC, along with the PDPA’s Expert Committee, issued a corrective order requiring the company to undertake the following actions and notify the Office of the PDPC of the relevant correction measures within seven days of receiving the order: Implement up-to-date security measures: The company must improve its current security measures to prevent future breaches and ensure that the security measures are up-to-date with changing technologies. Raise awareness of personnel: The company must provide training to relevant personnel to ensure awareness of data compliance and protection practices. This significant administrative action establishes a precedent for addressing data breaches in both governmental and commercial sectors in Thailand. It also confirms the importance of PDPA compliance, particularly the need for robust security measures, timely breach notifications, and the appointment of a designated DPO. The monetary fine highlights the financial and

Following the enactment of the Tax Administration Law (TAL), Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance has issued Notification No. 44/2024, which outlines directives and procedures for addressing violations of tax law provisions. These procedures, which came into force on June 13, 2024, primarily focus on three key areas: tax evasion, impeding tax administration, and failure to preserve secrecy. The notification primarily aims to address tax evasion, impeding tax administration, and failure to preserve secrecy, classifying these offenses as either subject to arrest without warrant or not. Notably, tax evasion is classified as an offense subject to arrest without warrant, while impeding tax administration and failure to preserve secrecy are not. The notification also prescribed the forms for notifying taxpayers before taking any action. Tax Evasion Tax evasion refers to a taxpayer who willfully evades the assessment, payment, or collection of tax. Penalties for such offenses include fines of MMK 250,000 (approx. USD 120) or 100% of the evaded tax (whichever is greater), imprisonment for up to seven years, or both. The enforcement process for tax evasion requires the chief officer of the township revenue department or an officer in charge (the tax authority) to assess the relevant documents and information provided by the taxpayer. If a taxpayer is found to be evading tax, the tax authority must send a notice in the prescribed form for verification within 15 days. Taxpayers may apply for a one-time extension of 15 days to submit requested documents and make disclosures. If the taxpayer cannot fulfill the requirements as instructed, the tax authority will seek approval from the director general of the Internal Revenue Department (IRD) for criminal proceedings as cognizable offences. Impeding Tax Administration and Failure to Preserve Secrecy Impeding tax administration refers to obstruction or attempted obstruction of taxation staff or officers from carrying out their duties. Such

On June 28, 2024, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) issued Circular No. 19/2024/TT-NHNN to amend certain regulations of Circular No. 08/2023/TT-NHNN dated June 30, 2023 (‘Circular 08”), on conditions for foreign loans not guaranteed by the government (“Circular 19”). Circular 19 took effect on July 1, 2024, and provides changes in relation to, among other things, foreign loans to pay for goods import contracts and letters of credit. Foreign Loans to Pay for Goods Import Contracts Circular 08 exempts foreign loans in the form of deferred payment for imported goods (a buyer-seller relationship) from applicable foreign loan conditions. Circular 19 adds provisions regarding foreign loans taken out by non-bank borrowers (a buyer-seller-lender relationship) to make the deferred payments for goods import contracts for the implementation of an investment project, production or business plan, or other project. In this case, the foreign loan’s purpose is determined to be for implementing an investment project, production or business plan, or other project; and the borrower can exclude medium- and long-term foreign loan balances arising from the deferred payment in the import contracts when calculating the foreign loan limit. In addition, the borrower is allowed to borrow from foreign lenders to pay for the goods import contract via letters of credit. However, it is worth noting that other requirements relating to the loans are still applied to the borrower, such as foreign loan agreement, currency, and records/reporting obligations Letters of Credit Following the reclassification of letter of credit (L/C) activities from a “payment service” to “extension of credit” under the Law on Credit Institutions 2024, Circular 19 supplements L/C activities into the current foreign loan regulatory framework, including adding foreign loans between credit institutions and branches of foreign banks (as issuing banks) and non-resident banks (as reimbursing banks) where issuing banks are the borrowers and the reimbursing

On August 9, 2024, Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) opened a period for public feedback regarding the 2022 Royal Decree on Digital Platforms and its subregulations. To collect this feedback, the ETDA has prepared a 44-question survey on specific attributes of the royal decree and its requirements, covering issues such as the definition of digital platform services (DPSs), types of services that are subject to notification requirements, information that must be submitted annually, and the royal decree’s extraterritorial scope. Business operators that fall within the scope of the royal decree and wish to provide feedback on its effectiveness should prepare and submit the survey online to the ETDA by the end of August 2024. Royal Decree on Digital Platforms Thailand’s Royal Decree on Digital Platforms was published in the Government Gazette on December 22, 2022. It defines a DPS as any service that facilitates or mediates transactions between users through a digital platform, such as e-commerce, food delivery, ride-hailing, online travel agency, online payment provider, or social media platform. The decree requires DPS operators to notify the ETDA before commencing operations, with some limited exemptions. The decree also empowers the ETDA to issue notifications (i.e., subregulations) and guidelines for implementing the decree and to monitor and enforce compliance by DPS operators. The ETDA may impose administrative sanctions, such as warnings, fines, service suspension, or revocation of notification, for any violation of the royal decree or the ETDA’s subregulations. In-scope DPS operators should take this opportunity to provide comments to the ETDA in order to voice their opinions on the practicality of the requirements and support the regulator in shaping the requirements of the royal decree and its subregulations. For more information on this initiative from the ETDA, or on any aspect related to the Royal Decree on Digital Platforms, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at

Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Thailand chapter to the 2024 edition of Litigation & Dispute Resolution from the Global Legal Insights (GLI) series published by Global Legal Group. This comprehensive guide provides detailed analysis of litigation and dispute resolution laws and regulations across multiple jurisdictions worldwide. Each chapter of the guide offers an in-depth examination of key aspects of litigation and dispute resolution, including: Efficiency and integrity of process Privilege and disclosure Evidence Costs and attorney fees Litigation funding Class actions Interim relief Enforcement of judgments/awards Cross-border litigation International arbitration Mediation and ADR Regulatory investigations The complete Thailand chapter, authored by counsel Michael Ramirez and associate Chayathorn Kruatao, is available as a PDF below. The Thailand chapter—and the full Litigation & Dispute Resolution guide—are also freely available on the GLI website.

Myanmar has once again made significant amendments to its minimum-wage framework by introducing additional allowances for both public- and private-sector workers. On August 9, 2024, the National Committee for Setting the Minimum Wage issued Notification No. 1/2024, which entitles private-sector workers to a new additional daily allowance of MMK 1,000 (approximately USD 0.48). This increase is on top of the MMK 1,000 additional daily allowance introduced last year. As a result, workers at private-sector employers with more than 10 employees are now entitled to the base minimum wage of MMK 4,800 plus additional allowances of MMK 2,000, for a total of MMK 6,800 (approximately USD 3.20) per day for an eight-hour workday, effective August 1, 2024. A similar additional allowance had been announced for workers in government departments and organizations on July 26, 2024. Background The MMK 4,800 (approximately USD 2.29) minimum wage for an eight-hour workday (equivalent to MMK 600 per hour) was established in May 2018 for all workers, irrespective of location or job type. In September 2023, the Ministry of Planning and Finance announced an additional daily benefit of MMK 1,000 for workers in government departments and organizations, and on October 9, 2023, the National Committee for Setting the Minimum Wage extended this benefit to workers at private-sector employers with more than 10 employees, bringing the effective minimum daily wage to MMK 5,800 (approximately USD 2.77). These changes took effect on October 1, 2023. Applicability of Additional Allowances for Private-Sector Workers The latest announcement also entitles employees to the base minimum wage and additional allowances for days used from their entitlement to leave and holidays, in accordance with the 1951 Leave and Holidays Act. However, the daily allowances—totaling MMK 2,000—are not to be included when calculating overtime payments. Instead, overtime payments must be calculated based on the base minimum daily wage of MMK

With the growing prominence of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) factors, businesses in Vietnam are increasingly recognizing their importance in driving global demand, societal impact, and economic value. A comprehensive acknowledgment of ESG-related legal requirements is critical for investors and companies operating in Vietnam to meet stakeholder expectations and ensure compliance. Our guide provides a basic overview of the rapidly evolving ESG landscape in Vietnam, covering a range of key issues for companies doing business in the country: What is ESG, and what does the ESG legal framework look like in Vietnam? Who needs to follow ESG regulations in Vietnam? What are the benefits of ESG compliance? How can enterprises enhance ESG best practices in Vietnam? Please click on the link below to view the full article.